


Stand by me

by scarletchidori



Series: NejiTen Month 2019 [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/M, NejiTen Month 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 09:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletchidori/pseuds/scarletchidori
Summary: "What do I expect? An answer? A sign that he’s watching over me? Watching me wasting my life for someone who isn’t here anymore? He would be ashamed of me."





	Stand by me

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly inspired by this fan art: https://vajallie.tumblr.com/post/110577621874/nejiten-his-grave-was-a-lie-he-was-brought-back 
> 
> It's been awhile since I wrote something for the NejiTen month, even thought this doesn't follow any prompt. This isn't sad as it looks like because I like to ignore canon.

_“Even when the world was falling apart, you were my constant… my touchstone”_

_“_ _And you are mine”_

_(X-Files)_

_*_

I basically live here now. Lee stopped asking me if I was feeling ‘alright’ after I basically shouted at him that I would never be alright again. I thought he would be mad at me, perhaps shout at me that I wasn’t the only person in grief but instead he hugged me tightly whispering that he understood my pain and that he knew that me and Neji shared a close bond.

‘You were close’. The past tense killed me and still kills me. I wasn’t able to say a proper goodbye, I wasn’t able to confess what I really felt for him. 

  


_“Tenten, please”, Lee begs as he knocks on my door “Please open this door, let me in”._

_“Go away”._

_“NO!”, he shouts “I don’t want to leave you alone, please”._

_“Leave me alone, Ne-”._

_I suddenly became aware of what I was about to say, of the name I was about to pronounce. A name that has become a taboo for me these days._

_“Tenten, please”_

_With difficulty, I open the door letting myself fall to the ground while I cry._

_“Tenten?”._

_“He’s dead”, I whisper “I-- he promised and now he’s dead”._

_Lee doesn’t say anything, but he hugs me tightly._

  


“I miss you”, I confess to his grave “I miss you so much”.

No answer, of course. Sometimes I feel stupid realizing that I am talking to an inanimate object. What do I expect? An answer? A sign that he’s watching over me? Watching me wasting my life for someone who isn’t here anymore? He would be ashamed of me.

“You must be ashamed of me”, I whisper to the wind “I do nothing but coming here and talking to you…”

I kneel before his grave, caressing his name with affection, every time I open my eyes I hope to see another name, maybe someone I don’t even know. I am really a bad person wishing death upon others in order to have Neji next to me again.

“Sometimes… I would swear to see you in front of your grave. But I see you everywhere, in our favorite place where we used to train, and even next to me when I pretend not to be at home while Lee knocks on my door and I--”

Suddenly someone sits next to me.

“I apologize”, I say without looking “I shall leave you alone with him”.

“Tenten?”

Neji.

“It cannot be”, I whisper “You---are dead”.

I look up at him, at Neji, and my heart skips a beat. Because it’s him, his hair is so much shorter, but it’s really him. How can this be? He died, I saw it. I saw his forehead without the curse mark… he was dead.

“I know”.

“Are you a ghost? Are you here to cheer me up? To make me feel better?”

“I am not a ghost, Tenten”.

“Of course you are”, I whisper “I thought I had so many things to say… you know after you died, but now I don’t know where to begin”

“I’m here”

  
“But for how long? Just stay close to me for a little longer”

“I will stay close to you, forever”, he says “Because I am alive. That grave is a lie, my clan decided that it was better that way instead of giving hope to the people I love”

“I don’t quite understand”, I say calmly.

Giving hope? His grave is a lie? I must be more desperate than I thought to conjure such a silly hallucination.

“Sakura tried to save me and when she had to fight, Tsunade-sama took the lead, the Infinite Tsukuyomi basically destroyed Sakura’s work, so my survival was kept a secret. Sakura wanted to tell you, and she wanted to tell the truth to Lee and Hinata-sama as well, but my uncle told her it was better this way”

“Why?”

“Because I was between life and death, they weren’t even sure I’d open my eyes again”, he whispers “They didn’t want to give you false hope”

“Why should they care about me?”, I ask “I am none of their business”

“But you are mine. I care about you”, he murmurs “You are the last person. Everybody knows now”.

“Last person? That’s something a ghost would say or perhaps I am dreaming?”, I ask “But then again… I don’t want to wake up, I want to stay with you forever”.

I stand up looking at him. His eyes, his face, everything's the same. The only differences are his hair and his markless forehead.

“You don’t have the curse mark”, I say “You are dead”

“My curse mark disappeared after my death and didn’t reappear once my heart started beating again, but it’s fine”

“You told me that I was your freedom”, I say with tears in my eyes “But you lied to me, didn’t you? Because your freedom was death”.

“I never lied to you”, he whispers “I swear I never lied to you but at that moment I thought it was fate but then I opened my eyes, and I was in a strange place, full of snow and light, and… I saw my father”.

“Really?”

“He told me that it wasn’t my destiny, that I had more to live and to give, so… maybe he saved me too”.

I throw my arms around him, holding him tightly almost painfully, hearing his heart beating against my ear. 

  
“I missed you”, I whisper “They should have told me you were alive”

“I know”, he says “It’s complicated but I swear that I will tell you everything, but not now please”.

I slightly move away from him and I caress his hair, so much shorter now, and then his cheek and strangely he leans into my touch.

  
“I love you”, I confess “I should have told you years ago, but I’ve never had the courage because I was too scared, but I lost you and now you’re here and… I’m not scared anymore”.

“I love you too, Tenten”, he murmurs “And you are my freedom and always will be. You were the first person, after my father died, that made me feel something aside from grief and hatred”.

“What are you gonna do now?”, I ask.

“Our team is forever, despite what happened to me and to our sensei”, he says with a smile.

“Yes”

“And we are forever, Ten”, he whispers “And I’m sorry for the pain I caused you an-”

“I don’t care anymore”

I hug him again laying my head against his chest to hear his heartbeat. I don’t even try to hide my tears and when he returns my embrace, hugging me close to his chest, I close my eyes.

“I love you”, I repeat “Not like in your friend sort of way but in a love-love way”

“Yes, I know”, he says smiling “It’s the same thing for me, I’ve loved you for so many years and I think we have a second chance now… so stand by me”.

I move away from him and I stand on my tiptoes and I kiss his now markless forehead and then his lips.

“Always”.

**Author's Note:**

> As always if you find mistakes, let me know!!! Thank you very much for reading.


End file.
